Storrs — The circumstances, the aura, have changed surrounding the UConn women's basketball team since the night in 1989 when the Huskies made their NCAA tournament debut.

For instance ...

"We had a reception back at the alumni center for both teams and the coaches and the parents," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said this week, chuckling to himself at the notion. "I would say it was pretty memorable. I don't think if we lose to Towson (Friday), there's gonna be a reception over at the alumni house."

Since the first one, there have been many more NCAA tournament appearances for UConn.

The Huskies are 118-19 all-time in the tournament following Friday night's 110-61 victory over Towson, an NCAA win total which serves as the most in women's basketball history. UConn, which has won 11 national championships and has 11 consecutive Final Four berths to its credit, is making its 31st straight tournament appearance, building off that inaugural bid.

But that doesn't mean Auriemma doesn't still appreciate the joy that is apparent with first-timers such as Towson. Towson, coached by Diane Richardson, reached the NCAA tournament for the first time this season by winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament as the No. 4 seed.

"Our first game was in the old (Hugh Greer Field House). We were going to play La Salle. Might have been college at the time; they might not have been La Salle University at that time. I don't even know," Auriemma said. "All I know is they were better than we were."

Auriemma said he had seven freshmen on the team and wasn't quite sure how to prepare them for the NCAA tournament.

"I wasn't gonna, like, panic and overdo it and start coaching like John Wooden or something," Auriemma said. "So one day we played Wiffle ball. I was just trying to get their minds off that this was a different game than the kinds of games they were playing during the regular season."

No. 9 La Salle won the game 72-63 over No. 8 UConn before going on to lose to top-seeded Tennessee in the second round of the then-48-team tournament.

"It was a really good game and the excitement was unbelievable and the emotions were really high," Auriemma said. "It was like the greatest thrill ever to be the first team ever in your school in women's basketball to go to the NCAA tournament."

Autograph-seekers

Buffalo reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history last year, but features a much different roster in this season's NCAA tournament with seven freshmen on the roster.

Coach Felisha Legette-Jack, whose 10th-seeded team pulled off a mild upset of No. 7 Rutgers in a first-round game Friday at Gampel Pavilion, 82-71, was having some fun in Thursday's press conference describing what she calls her "giddy" newcomers.

"Those seven freshmen are really acting tough and walking around, but I know they're saying, 'OMG, I'm at UConn ... and there's a chance we can meet Geno,'" Legette-Jack said with a laugh. "Not play a game, not play Rutgers. They're walking around with pens and paper in their pockets and I know, I caught two of them.

"I want them to be giddy in their own way, in a sneaky kind of way. It's neat to go through it through their eyes. This is why I've stayed in the business for 30 years ... 'cause every year is so different, every year is so much fun. Every year through the eyes of a child is a beautiful place to live."

v.fulkerson@theday.com